Indicators of neuro-repair in patients with the first episode of schizophrenia during antipsychotic therapy

Introduction. Currently, there is no doubt about the essential role of the processes of neurodestruction and neuroreparation in the mechanisms of development of mental disorders, including schizophrenia. At the same time, many neurotrophic factors remain unexplored in this disease, including their dynamics against the background of antipsychotic therapy. Objective: to study some indicators of neuroreparation in patients with the first episode of schizophrenia during therapy with first- and second-generation antipsychotics. Materials and Methods. We examined 40 patients with a diagnosis of “paranoid schizophrenia, follow-up period less than a year” (F20.09), the examination was carried out twice: before the start of treatment with antipsychotics and after 4 weeks of psycho-pharmacotherapy. Patients of the first group received haloperidol, the second group - risperidone. The control group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers. Neuromarker parameters were determined in blood serum by flow fluorimetry. Results. The level of brain neurotrophic factor was reduced and gradually increased to control values during treatment; no differences were found depending on the type of antipsychotic. The content of nerve growth factor and vasculoendothelial growth factor significantly increased with haloperidol therapy, and fractalkine - with risperidone therapy. Thus, an increase in the level of all studied parameters of neuroreparation in patients with the first episode of schizophrenia was found, which indicates the early activation of neuroprotective mechanisms during antipsychotic therapy.